The Eight Cards
by Scint-chan
Summary: Eriol comes back to take Sakura to China with him to meet up with Syaoran. Whatever will ensue?


AN~ Let's all assume that Sakura's family knows about her magic, that Eriol is away, living somewhere else, and that the cards are all taken care of. Also, that all of the Guardians of the Sakura cards are back in the book, with the exception of Kero and Yue. Yue has used his power to assume his false form indefinitely.  
  
The Eight Cards  
  
by Scint-chan  
  
Sakura sat on her bed, her clothes strewn about the room. How on earth was she supposed to pack her life into two suitcases and one carry-on? And just how had this happened? Maybe she should explain....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
One week earlier...  
  
Sakura sighed as she stared out the window of her classroom, waiting for school to begin. For once, she had gotten there early. It was the middle of March, quite possibly the most boring month of the year. All of her classes were the same, nothing interesting happened, and the students were starting to get fidgety. Sakura just wished school would be over with soon. She was in her junior year of high school, and couldn't wait for it to be over. Sure, she was captain of the cheerleading squad, and was the most popular girl in school, but none of that mattered to her, all she really wanted was for her two best friends to come back. Syaoran had left six years ago, when they were eleven, after all of the cards had been captured and transformed into Sakura cards. The Li clan called him back to China because there had been no reason for him to stay and Sakura really missed him. Of course they had written, and talked on the phone, but it wasn't the same. If only she had told him how she felt, maybe then he would have stayed. Tomoyo had also left her. Earlier in the year, a design school had "discovered" Tomoyo, and immediately gave her a place in their school. Tomoyo had been ecstatic at getting into such a well-known school and left without a second glance to China. Now, Sakura was left in Japan with both her friends in China, and no way to get there.  
  
"Class! Class! I have an announcement to make!" Terada-sensei said, shaking Sakura out of her daydreaming, "A school in China has contacted us, and is interested in having several of our students. They would like to form an exchange program in which two of our students live and be schooled in China for one year, and then, two of their students will come here. I'm sure this would be a very educational and cultural experience for all individuals involved. Anyone who would like to go, may sign up in the office and selections will be made before the end of the week and parents will be notified." He explained. China?!? That meant Tomoyo... and Syaoran...  
  
"And, before we start class, I have another announcement to make. We have a new student joining us for a while. I'm sure some of you may remember him from grade school. Eriol Hiiragizawa, please come in."  
  
*THUD* Sakura fell off her chair when she heard this. Eriol! She hadn't seen him in years. He looked the same, only taller. His mischievous eyes were the same, as was his hair. Eriol had gotten a lot cuter though, she had to note. Like Syaoran, he had left soon after the cards were over with. All Sakura's memories of Eriol were of a scheming reincarnation of Clow. She could only imagine what he acted like now.  
  
"Pleased to meet you all again," Eriol said, "I'm very glad to be back and I hope we will all get the chance to catch up in the time that I am here." he finished, while grinning widely at the sight of a shocked Sakura on the floor.  
  
"Kinomoto-san, are you alright?" Terada-sensei asked, seeing her try to scramble back into her seat.  
  
"Hai, gomen, sensei," Sakura said, blushing. Eriol had already embarrassed her and had only been there for a few minutes. Who knew what was next?  
  
"Hiiragizawa-kun, please take a seat behind Kinomoto-san. I'm sure she would be more than willing to help you out in the next few days, or until you have adjusted, won't you, Kinomoto-san?" Terada asked, or stated rather.  
  
"Hai," Sakura answered. She might as well make the teacher happy. Eriol quickly took his seat behind Sakura, but not before letting out an evil chuckle as he passed. Suddenly, the day was looking longer and longer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that day at lunch....  
  
Sakura walked to her locker, quickly got her purse and headed to the lunchroom. She was glad to have this break from Eriol. He had been following her all day, whether he had a class with her or not. Luckily, he said he had enrollment papers to finish in the office and Sakura wouldn't see him until later. She got in line, purchased her food and started to walk out of the school to the courtyard to eat, when someone grabbed her arm. Sakura turned to yell at whoever had touched her, only to see Eriol.  
  
"Hello, Sakura-chan," Eriol greeted her, "How has your day been so far?" Sakura just growled at him. "Why, there's no need for that, if anything, I think you should be grateful that I'm here."  
  
"And why is that?" Sakura asked sourly. She was in no mood for this now.  
  
"Well," he said, ignoring her tone, "I assume you know about the exchange program with China, do you not?" Sakura's eyes lit up at the mention, "I'll take that as a yes. Well," he continued, "What if I told you that I could make sure that you were one of those two people going? I know there's more than one reason you would want to go than for "culture"."  
  
"How?" Sakura asked warily. It had been her experience that whenever Eriol had a plan, there was always a catch.  
  
"Magic." he stated simply, an evil glint in his eye.  
  
"Eriol! That's not very fair to the rest of the school!" Sakura protested, "Besides, even if I did get to go, what do I have to do?"  
  
"Why, whatever do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Eriol asked innocently, "I have no other motive other than to make you happy." Sakura snorted at this. Eriol had *never* been without another agenda.  
  
"Really, Eriol, you expect me to believe that? What's the catch?"  
  
"Well... there *is* a reason I am here... Meet me under the cherry tree after school and I'll explain it all."  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After school...  
  
"Okay, the reason I am here is very important. Do you understand this Sakura?" Sakura quickly nodded her head. She knew that whatever it was, it had to be serious enough for him to come all the way from England. "Well, you see, um... there's more cards out there and-"  
  
"What?!? More cards? Where did they some from? How am I going to capture them? I don't have Syaoran!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, yes, I know this," Eriol explained hurriedly, "That is why we are going to China. To get Syaoran's help." he added. "And the cards came from me. Me, not Clow. A few years ago, I got bored and I, um, kinda made eight more cards," Sakura's mouth dropped open, "Okay, before you get mad, this is not entirely my fault. When I was making the cards, I was interrupted, and they became much more powerful than I had intended. They escaped, and I tried my best to get them back, but because they are stronger than any other cards, I do not have the power to get them back."   
  
"So we have to get these cards with Syaoran's help?" Sakura asked, "Hm... that doesn't seem so hard." She knew that with Syaoran's help, this would be a cinch.  
  
"That's not all. These cards seem to have a mind of their own and appear randomly. They have the ability to inhabit any person or object, much like the Sakura cards, but are very unnoticeable, making them nearly impossible to capture. I do, however, have a way for you to sense them. I have made a small charm for you, as well as Syaoran, to wear. It has the power to seek these cards out, but that's about it. The rest will be up to you. I will be accompanying you to China to help you in any way possible. We will be leaving on Saturday." He finished, holding out the charms. He smirked at Sakura's reaction. One charm was a small cherry blossom, the other a wolf.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Back to the present...  
  
And that was how she ended up, here, in her room, wondering what she was going to do, when the phone rang.  
  
"Moshi moshi, Sakura speaking."  
  
"Sakura? Is that you?" The voice was barely audible through the static. Whomever it was, was calling from very far away.  
  
"Tomoyo?" Sakura said excitedly. She hadn't spoken to her in weeks because the phone bill had gotten too high, and her otou-san had restricted her.  
  
"OHOHOHOHOHOOHOHO!!!!" was all Sakura heard. "I just heard! Eriol called me and told me everything! You're really coming here? For a year? And for more cardcapturing?"   
  
"Yup! I can't wait! You're meeting me at the airport, ne?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Of course, my Sakura-chan, with my V8. I can't believe how many kawaii moments I must have missed!" Sakura sweatdropped.  
  
"Does- does Syaoran know I'm coming?" The thought finally occurring to Sakura.  
  
"Iie, but he's coming. He thinks we're going out for lunch. You know Sakura, he misses you a lot." Tomoyo said, "I haven't spent the past few months here without getting any information out of him." She said mysteriously.  
  
"O-okay... um, well, I've got to go now Tomoyo. I have to figure out how to fit all my clothes in these suitcases....." She trailed off, wondering just what Tomoyo was implying.  
  
"You are a cardcaptor, aren't you? Use a card. Ja ne!" And at that, the phone went dead. Sakura shook her head, Tomoyo would never change. Hm... change... that's it! The little card! She could shrink her belongings! Thank Kami for best friends.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Geez, Sakura, are you bringing anything at all? It feels like there's nothing in your suitcases at all!" Touya remarked, as he carried Sakura's bags out to the car. Sakura giggled. Touya knew about the cards, but not that she used them for herself. It was Saturday, and she was on her way to the airport to leave with Eriol. Surprisingly enough, Touya had not objected at all at her leaving the country. Probably because he had forgotten all about the "Chinese gaki" or maybe that it would mean more time with Yuki. Whatever the reason, Sakura didn't care, she was too happy, by the end of the day, she would be with Tomoyo *and* Syaoran again.  
  
"Sakura! We're going to have to leave in a few minutes. Are you sure that you aren't forgetting anything?" her otou-san called from the kitchen.  
  
"Um... no, I think that's all."  
  
"What about this?" He asked, coming outside, holding a small golden animal by the tail.  
  
"Hey! Let me down! I was just taking a few snacks for the trip!" Kero said. Sakura's father laughed, producing a basket of food from behind his back. He had formed a bit of an attachment to Kero, ever since he found out about him. "Wow!" Kero shouted as he dove inside. This caused Sakura to smile. Kero hadn't been too happy when he found out about the new cards, but Sakura knew that with enough food, he would be okay. Besides, she was planning on putting him back in the book until she needed him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
At the airport...  
  
"Final boarding for flight 832 Tokyo, Japan to Hong Kong, China" The man over the loudspeaker announced. Sakura picked up her bags, kissed her brother and father goodbye and walked towards the gate. Eriol hadn't shown up yet, so Sakura assumed he had boarded the plane earlier.   
  
"Sakura! Sakura!" She heard from behind her. She spun around. It was Eriol, rushing to meet her, bags in hand.  
  
"I'm so sorry," he gasped, when he caught up to her, "I woke up late, and got here as soon as I could." He struggled to catch his breath as he continued to walk onto the plane with her. Sakura sighed. Eriol was pretty pitiful when she thought about it. She supposed that's what happened when one lived by themselves. 'Maybe what he needs is a girlfriend' she wondered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Arrival at Hong Kong Airport...  
  
The flight had gone well, if you can call listening to Eriol babble for seven hours well. After a while, Sakura had just tuned him out, and added an occasional; 'hai' to make it seem like she was paying attention. But that was over now, and she was finally here, just minutes away from the loving arms of-  
  
"Sakura!!!!!" Tomoyo shrieked, as Sakura stepped off the plane. 'There sure are a lot of people yelling my name today' she thought. Tomoyo ran towards her, nearly plowing her over, and hugged her tightly.  
  
"I'm so glad you're here! I have so much to show you and to videotape!" she exclaimed.   
  
"Um... Tomoyo?" Sakura squeaked.  
  
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"  
  
"Do you think you could let me breathe?"   
  
"Gomen, I'm just so excited and I think Syaoran-kun will be too." she said knowingly. "I couldn't get him to come with me, he has a big paper due tomorrow, but I promise you'll see him today. Eriol-kun?" she said, finally noticing him standing behind Sakura.  
  
"Hai..." he said slowly.  
  
"Eeeeeeeee!!!!" Tomoyo squealed, hugging him, "I missed you too!!!"  
  
"Tomoyo... It's only been a week." he stated.   
  
"So?" Tomoyo said, kissing him.  
  
"What???? What's happening here?" Sakura yelled, looking thoroughly freaked out. Eriol, pulled away from Tomoyo's grasp, a dazed look on his face, and his glasses sitting crookedly on his nose.  
  
"Um... Sakura... Eriol and I... we've been seeing each other for the past few months and he's been living here," Tomoyo said confusedly, "Didn't Eriol tell you?"  
  
"Uhhhh... Oops?" Eriol said sheepishly. Tomoyo glared at him and pulled out a Chiharu-type mallet, and whacked him over the head, causing him to fall unconscious. She picked up Sakura's bags in one hand, dragged Eriol with the other, and starting walking out the door. Still in shock, Sakura just followed her dumbly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
At the school...  
  
"And here is your room, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo concluded. Sakura sat down, feeling a little dizzy. She had never seen such a large school before. [think Hogwarts here, people] The high school was set up like a college, complete with separate buildings for every subject and dorms, much larger than any normal room. The only bad thing was that there were community bathrooms. Just the thought of guys in towels made Sakura go into 'hayann' mode. Tomoyo seemed to think it was insanely funny though. Well, on the upside, the classes were on a break for a few days, giving Sakura a while to get "broken-in" to the school and remember how to speak Chinese. With the help of Syaoran and several Sakura cards, she had learned once, but hadn't spoken the language in years.  
  
"Thank you Tomoyo-chan, I think I'm going to rest for a while, and then take a shower before I come down to eat.," Sakura said sleepily. The flight had taken more out of her than she thought.  
  
"Of course, Sakura-chan. I'll just go visit Eriol for a few hours *wink* and come back to make sure you're ready, okay?" Sakura didn't even hear her, she was already asleep.  
  
When Sakura finally woke up, everything was fuzzy. She did see well enough to see that Tomoyo had unpacked all of her things and decorated her room. Sakura yawned as she picked up a few belongings to take to the shower and walked down the hallway to the bathrooms. She stumbled blindly into the shower, slowly adjusting to the light, turned on the water and proceeded to wash her long auburn hair. She wondered if Syaoran would recognize her now. She had changed a lot. She no longer looked like the stick-straight little girl she once was. She had filled out a little, and had grown to a tall 5' 7" Tomoyo was always telling her she was the perfect size to be a model, but she always dismissed it. Sakura shook herself out of her reverie and stepped out of the shower, careful to be fully covered by her towel in the off-chance there was another guy in there. She stepped into a changing room and pulled the door shut tightly. She dried off and pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a pink midriff-baring shirt, which she hid under a zip up white fleece. She didn't want anyone getting any ideas.   
  
Sakura opened the door of the changing room and was stunned to see a guy in a towel shaving. He wasn't facing her, as he was having too much difficulty trying to keep his long hair out of his eyes, so she tried to creep towards the door as quietly as possible to avoid any confrontation, but it was too late. The young man heard her step on a creaking board and quickly turned around. Sakura gasped.  
  
"Um... gomen, I didn't mean to disturb you, I really am sorry, I'll just go," she babbled, her eyes darting, trying to find some way out, backing herself up against a wall. The young man laughed.  
  
"It's okay, really. You're new here, aren't you? I haven't seen you around before. And don't worry, it took me a while to get used to the bathrooms too." He squinted as he leaned forward, looking closer at Sakura, who was now paralyzed in fear. She looked very much like Sakura, except with longer hair. "You know, you look really familiar, you know? Almost like this girl I used to know.... Sakura? Is that you?" He asked hopefully. Immediately, Sakura recognized Syaoran. Both stopped, and stared, trying to take it all in. Syaoran just couldn't believe Sakura was *here* of all places and Sakura was just gawking at the fact that he was in a towel. The shock was almost too much to take in. Suddenly, Syaoran stepped forward and picked her up and wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly.   
  
"Sakura! I missed you so much! I can't believe you're here!" Sakura threw her arms around his neck and held him close. She couldn't imagine how she had been away from him for so long. After what seemed like hours, Syaoran set her down. Just then, the door flew wide open, revealing a cackling Eriol and a camera sporting Tomoyo.  
  
  
AN~ Whew! That was *long* (8 pages!)and it took me almost 4 hours, so please review! I put a lot of work into this. Look for the next chapter soon! 


End file.
